Lewis Hamilton discusses Chinese GP sprint race’s opening lap with Lando Norris - “He probably had the pace to overtake me”

Lewis Hamilton recently talked about his intense wheel-to-wheel battle with Lando Norris right at the start to the 2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint race.

Both the British drivers locked the front row at the sprint qualifying session under extremely tricky weather conditions. Norris took pole position after his deleted lap was reinstated, while Hamilton secured second place.

At the start of the sprint race, both the McLaren and Mercedes drivers locked horns at the iconic turn 1 at the Shanghai International Circuit. The turn is a long yet sharp right-hander and Norris was on the outside line, trying to overtake the seven-time world champion. Unfortunately, the McLaren driver lost control of the car and went off track for a moment, which cost him a couple of places.

Speaking after the Chinese GP sprint race in the FIA press conference, where Sportskeeda was present, Lewis Hamilton explained the incident in detail and how Lando Norris lost control because he went to the dirty part of the track in order to overtake. The Mercedes star later added that Norris should have stayed behind him in that corner and could have overtaken him on the straight.

"He tried to hold the outside line and we both were just pushing to the maximum," Hamilton said. "I used obviously everything to try and hold position. Eventually I think he just ended up on the dirty bits on the outside and then lost it. You go a bit too far, then there is no grip out there.

"In that scenario, he should have just conceded and just parked up behind me, he probably would have had the pace to overtake me, because the McLaren is very quick."

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Lewis Hamilton shares how he was excited to see the rain during the Chinese GP sprint qualifying

Lewis Hamilton expressed how excited he was to see the downpour during the 2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying.

Before the third and final sprint qualifying session, rain started coming down the Shanghai International Circuit. All 10 drivers were on intermediate tires but struggled to keep their cars from spinning around. Lewis Hamilton, however, was excited under these conditions. He managed to secure second place in the sprint race.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he explained that since the Mercedes W15 was not too quick in dry conditions, he hoped something would change for the better when it started raining.

"It was very tricky," Hamilton said. "Not a lot of grip for everyone but I'm so happy. As soon as I saw the rain coming I got excited because in the dry we were not quick enough, so when the rain came I thought we would have a better opportunity and that's when it came alive."

In the Chinese GP sprint race, Lewis Hamilton was eventually overtaken by defending world champion Max Verstappen and finished in second place.